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UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 
AT  AMHERST 


UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

Special  Collections  &  Rare  Books 


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...STOCKBRIDGE... 

AND    V^ICINITY. 


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Th,e    Ai-asRTvPE    Cc 
Brooklvm,    N      Y. 


E.      A        BENJAMIN. 
StoC  K  afJlCGE.     Mass 


STOCKBRIDGE. 


TOCKBRIDGE,  nestling  in   the   heart  of   the    Berkshire   Hills,   has  long  been 

known  as  the  "Village  Beautiful."     Entirely  surrounded  by  mountains,  the 

village,  with  its  broad  street,  its  magnificent  historic  old  trees,  the  liousatonic 

river  winding  through  the  meadows,    its   perfect  highways    and    beautiful 

estates,  make  it  one   of  the  most  attractive  resorts  in  the  country.     It  was 

originally  an   Indian   settlement,  with  John  Sergeant  as  its  first  missionary. 

His  grave   lies   in  our  cemeter)',  and  the  old  Mission  House  is  still  standing 

on  the  estate  of  S.  W.  Woodward,  formerly  the  David  Dudley  Field  property. 

The   neighborhood  abounds  in  the  lore  and  legend  of  the  oid  Indian  tribes. 

Lovers'  Leapon  Monument  Mountain,  where  the  Indian  maiden  threw  herself 

from  the  jagged  cliffs  because  she  could  not  marry  her  cousin,  has  been  made 

famous  by  the  pen  of  Bryant.     Sacrifice  Rock   on    Laurel  Hill,    in  which,  it  is  said,  there  is 

always  to  be  found  a  pool  of  water,  has  been  wrought  into  the  story  of  Hope  Leslie,  by  Miss 

Catherine  Sedgwick. 

The  old  Indian  burial  ground  is  at  the  west  of  the  village  and  is  marked  by  a  large 
monolith  of  natural  stone,  bearing  the  inscription:  "The  ancient  burial  place  of  the  Stock- 
bridge  Indians,  the  friends  of  our  fathers;  1734-1877."  The  spot  where  stood  the  litt'e  Indian 
church  in  the  wilderness  in  1739  is  marked  by  a  beautiful  chime  tower,  the  gift  of  David 
Dudley  Field.     These  chimes  are  rung  at  sunset  during  the  summer. 

The  town  was  chartered  in  1737,  and  in  1750  Jonathan  Edwards,  exiled  from  Northamp- 
ton, came  here,  where  his  name  was  closely  linked  with  the  history  of  the  town.  It  was 
here  he  wrote  that  famous  treatise  "The  Freedom  of  the  Will."  His  old  study  table  is  to  be 
found  in  the  public  library,  together  with  the  pewter  communion  tankard  used  by  the 
Indians,  and  the  couch  shell  used  by  them  to  call  their  people  to  worship.  Laurel  Hill,  the 
gift  of  the  Sedgwick  family  to  the  town,  was  the  former  council  place  of  the  Indians,  and  is 
now  the  anniversary  meeting  place  of  the  Laurel  Hill  Association  ;  the  pioneer  village  im- 
provement society  of  the  country.     On    Laurel    Hill   there   is   a  natural   platform,  with  stone 


seat  and  speaker's  desk  designed  by  Daniel  Chester  French,  who  has  a  home  in  Glendale. 
This  rostrum  is  a  memorial  to  Henry  D.  Sedgwick,  for  twenty-three  years  president  of  the 
Association. 

The  old  Indian  meeting  house,  somewhat  remodeled  since  the  early  days,  stands  at  the 
west  end  of  Main  street.  Here  preached  Edwards,  Stephen  West,  David  Dudley  Field, 
Tertius  Clarke,  and  many  other  noted  divines. 

St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church  in  the  centre  of  the  village  is  a  memorial  to  Susan  Ridley 
Sedgwick  Butler,  erected  by  her  husband,  Charles  E.  Butler.  It  is  a  choice  work  of  art. 
The  stained  glass  window  in  the  chancel  is  by  La  Farge.  The  decoration  of  the  choir  loft  is 
a  reproduction  of  L,uca  Delia  Robbia's  "Singing  Galleries."  The  baptistery  is  of  marble 
from  France,  the  memorial  tablet  of  which  was  the  work  of  Saint-Gaudens.  The  stained 
glass  window  is  from  Tiffany.     The  church  was  consecrated  in  1884. 

The  town  is  noted  for  its  beautiful  trees,  the  oldest  being  the  elm  standing  in  front  of 
Edward  B.  Owen's  home  opposite  the  church,  having  been  set  out  by  a  grandson  of  President 
Edwards  in  1786. 

The  first  post  oflSce  in  the  country  was  established  here  in  1792,  and  here  was  published 
in  1788  the  first  newspaper,  called  "The  Western  Star." 

To  the  north  of  the  village  is  beautiful  Lake  Mahkeenac,  near  which  stood  the  little 
red  cottage  where  Hawthorne  lived  and  wrote  "The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables,"  "Wonder 
Book"  and  "Tanglewood  Tales. 

Considering  its  small  population,  Stockbridge  has  given  to  the  world  an  unusual  num- 
ber of  eminent  men:  lawyers,  physicians,  authors,  artists  and  judges.  To  Judge  Theodore 
Sedgwick  belongs  the  honor  of  the  first  advocacy  of  a  suit  for  freedom  brought  by  a  slave 
under  the  Massachusetts  Constitution  of  1780.  The  famous  Field  family  lived  and  are  buried 
here;  Cyrus  W.,  who  laid  the  Atlantic  cable;  Rev.  Henry  M.,  editor  of  the  Evangelist;  David 
Dudley,  a  well  known  lawyer,  and  of  the  next  generation,  Stephen  D.  Field,  a  noted  electrical 
expert.  Mark  Hopkins,  made  president  of  Williams  College  in  1836,  was  born  at  Cherry  Hill, 
now  the  home  of  Henry  McBurney. 

Stockbridge  has  many  natural  beauties.  Ice  Glen,  perhaps,  being  the  most  famous. 
This  is  a  cleft  in  the  rocks  on  a  spur  from  the  western  end  of   Beartown,  called   Little   Moun- 


tain.  This  is  a  cool  ravine  with  caves  in  which  there  is  said  to  be  ice  through  the  summer. 
A  torch  light  procession  through  this  glen,  of  the  citizens  in  fancy  costumes,  is  one  of  the 
attractive  pastimes  of  the  town.     These  always  end  with  a  frolic  round  a  huge  bonfire. 

We  have  an  attractive  up-to-date  library  of  ten  thousand  volumes.  The  town  has  a  fine 
modern  school  building. 

Prospect  Hill  is  the  "Mecca"  of  all  those  who  wish  to  get  a  view  of  the  village  from 
its  loveliest  point,  and  here  are  grouped,  in  their  settings  of  extensive  lawns  and  fascinating 
gardens  the  homes  of  many  well  known  people.  "Naumkeag",  the  estate  of  the  late  Hon. 
Joseph  H.  Choate  is  one  of  great  interest.  On  the  sloping  hillside  are  the  old  fashioned 
garden  and  the  formal  Italian  garden  with  their  stone  seats  and  sparkling  fountains;  a  mass 
of  brilliant  color  the  season  through.  From  these  the  ground  slopes  gently  down  to  the 
cemetery,  where,  on  his  own  land,  his  body  quietly  rests.  Mr.  Charles  Mellen,  formerly 
president  of  the  N.  Y.,  N.  H.  &  H.  R.  R.,  has  an  extensive  and  beautiful  estate  on  East  Main 
street. 

Stockbridge  is  the  centre  of  a  colony  of  famous  artists  and  sculptors.  Here  one  finds 
Daniel  Chester  French,  Augustus  Lukemann,  Edward  Morse,  Walter  Nettleton,  Frederick 
Crowninshield,  Lydia  Field  Emmet  and  so  on.  Every  September  an  exhibition  is  held  in  the 
Casino  of  the  work  of  these  and  many  other  noted  people  of  adjoining  towns. 

The  links  of  the  Golf  Club  are  regarded  by  golfers  one  of  the  best  courses  in  the 
countr}'. 

The  Red  Lion  Inn,  on  Main  vStreet,  and  Heaton  Hall,  on  Prospect  Hill,  are  both 
famous  hotels.     There  are  also  a  number  of  excellent  boarding  houses. 

Stockbridge  is  on  the  N.  Y.,  N.  H.  and  H.  R.  R.,  150  miles  from  New  York  and  167 
miles  from  Boston.  It  has  an  altitude  from  800  to  1000  feet.  There  are  several  first-class 
liveries  and  garages. 


St.  Paul's  Church, 


Main  Street 


Bed  Lion  Inn. 


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The  Old  Mission  House, 

Built  im  1740  by  Rev.  John  Sargeant,  First  Missionary-  to  the  Stockbridse  Indians. 


Red  Lion  Inn  and  Soldiers'  Monument. 


:v-  -m 


Heaton  Hall. 


Ice  Glen 


Lake  Mahkeenac  or  Stockbridge  Bowl, 

From     Shadotw  Brook."  Residence  of  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie 


'The  Knoll,"  residence  of  Dr.  Austin  F.  Riggs. 


The  Oak  Lawn  House. 


RAILF<lAD   SlAliuN. 


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Sedgwick  Memorial,  Laurel  Hill. 


HOUSATONIC   R.VER   AND   GOLF    LINKS. 


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Jonathan  Edwards'  Monument,  Congregational  Church.  Rectory, 
Chimes  and  Town  Hall. 


